Topicalization as a Constituency Test | LINGUIST 401, Assignments of Linguistics

Download Topicalization as a Constituency Test | LINGUIST 401 and more Assignments Linguistics in PDF only on Docsity! Introduction to Syntax, LINGUIST 401 Feb 10, 2005 Assignment 2: Introducing Constituency 1 Topicalization as a Constituency Test Constituency is one of the most fundamental concepts in natural language syntax. Constituents are the building blocks of sentences. Our ability to break sentences up into smaller, simpler chunks is essential for our ability to understand sentences we have never heard before (which is something we do all the time — you’re doing it right now). Constituency tests - i.e. tests that allow us to determine the constituent structure of a sentence - are therefore essential component of any syntactician’s toolbox. In this assignment, we will examine one such test. English permits us to perform an operation that I’ll call topicalization. (It is sometimes called ‘fronting’ or ‘preposing’.) Here are a few examples, with the topicalized constituents underlined: (1) a. Bagels, I like. Hot dogs, I can’t stand. b. I’ll accept that pigs can fly. That they have a language, I just can’t believe. c. Until 10:30 pm, the party raged on. Topicalization forms the basis for a useful constituency test: (T) Hypothesis: A string of words X can be topicalized in a sentence S if, and only if, X is a constituent in S. According to hypothesis (T), we will never find a string of words that is a constituent but doesn’t topicalize, and we will never find something topicalized that is not a constituent. Your task Assess hypothesis (T) by topicalizing the underlined portions of the examples in 1–2f: (2) a. I could sell my psychology textbook on the black market. b. I could sell my psychology textbook on the black market. c. I could sell my psychology textbook on the black market. d. I could sell my psychology textbook on the black market. e. I could sell my psychology textbook on the black market. f. I could sell my psychology textbook on the black market. For each example, provide the topicalized version and answer at least the following questions about it: 1. Is it grammatical? 2. If it is grammatical, what can we conclude about the underlined phrase, based on (T)? 3. If it is ungrammatical, what can we conclude about the underlined phrase, based on (T)? Topicalization is context dependent: you need to make the meaning of your topicalized element a topic of discussion, else the results are likely to sound strange. You can reliably make something